Girls soccer: This week in Essex County

Tim Farrell/The Star-LedgerNutley's Natalie Melillo (left) is one of two players in Essex County with at least 11 goals.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Surayyah Muhammad has rocketed to the top of the scoring list in Essex County for Newark East Side.

Just five matches into the season Muhammad has 13 goals for 4-1 East Side.

Natalie Melillo is the only other double-digit goal scorer in the county (and she leads the American Division) with 11 for Nutley (5-4). Proven to be a dependable scorer for Nutley, Melillo has four multi-goal games and has scored in six of her team’s nine matches.

In the Liberty Division of the SEC, Montclair Kimberley’s Olivia Vaughn and Science Park’s Catarina Borralho share the lead with seven goals.

Meghan MacDonald and Tomison Kennedy have proven to be the main table-setters for Glen Ridge (6-2-1), as they lead the SEC American Division and all of Essex County with nine assists each. MacDonald chipped in three assists in a victory over Roselle Park and Kennedy did the same in a match against West Orange.

It should come as no surprise that Caldwell goalkeeper Carleigh Trivino is one of the county’s best with 113 saves this season, but the county leader at the moment is Theresa Buscaino, who has had to battle for Bloomfield (1-9) while racking up 124 saves. Illissa Blackshear of West Orange (108), Daniela Marinaro of Cedar Grove (106) and Claire Durney of Columbia (106) are not too far behind.

TEAM TO WATCH
Ninth-seeded Verona (5-2) opens the Essex County Tournament with a preliminary match against 14th-seeded Belleville (1-4). Assuming Verona wins there, it advances into the first round where it will meet Montclair Kimberley, which received a preliminary bye. That’s Verona’s chance to exact some revenge, since one of its only missteps this season was a 3-2 loss to Montclair Kimberley on Sept. 20. Since a scoreless tie in October 2010, Verona has lost three straight to Montclair Kimberley.

Verona may not want to be reminded of this, but if it defeats Montclair Kimberley its next opponent will be county juggernaut Livingston (7-0-1).

MATCHES TO WATCH
Golda Och (4-0), which has permitted one goal this season, places its perfect record on the line against Newark East Side (4-1) today at 4 p.m.

Tomorrow, Glen Ridge (6-2-1), the same outfit which upset Montclair (3-2 on Sept. 22), will see if it can work some more magic when it travels to No. 2 Livingston for a 4 p.m. match.